Part 1 Political background of the Indian subcontinent: the role of the new states in the international system; the Indian subcontinent - political-strategic legacies; freedom and fragmentation; non-alligned vs. alliance - formulation of defence and foreign policy; subcontinental wras - the use of force as a political alternative. Part 2 The politics of the nuclear weapons issue in India: the early years - Nehru's autocratic control; 1964-1968 - post-Nehru nuclear debate; the 1974 nuclear test - making the option visible; the post-Pokhran nuclear issue. Part 3 Pakistan - the politics of the nuclear issue: the nuclear weapon issue before 1971; 1971-1977 - the nuclear issue during Bhutto's era; the nuclear issue under Zia's rule. Part 4 India's nuclear development: first phase - establishment of a nuclear power industry; second phase - progression towards the May 1974 test; third phase - perfecting the weapons option; conclusion. Part 5 Pakistan's nuclear development: nuclear power - an energy alternative; reprocessing and enrichment - progression towards a weapons option. Part 6 India's changing views of arms control: PTBT diplomacy; India and the NPT; India and the South Asia nuclear weapon free zone. Part 7 Pakistan and nuclear arms control: Pakistan and the PTBT; Pakistan and the NPT; initiative on the South Asia NWFZ. Part 8 India's choice - nuclear option vs. nuclear weapons: India's weapons force versus the superpowers; the effect on relations with the regional and non-alligned countries; practical constraints on the development of a nuclear force. Part 9 Pakistan's choice - nuclear option vs, nuclear weapons: the politics of the nuclear option; the politics of a Pakistani nuclear weapons.

There is concern about the proliferation of nuclear arms in the sub-continent. This book examines what influences arms policies there and argues that, although both India and Pakistan are determined to retain their nuclear option, both would welcome a situation which allowed them to de-militarize.